Phil Spencer told yesterday of his desperate fight to keep his home finding company going.

The TV property expert said he had been paying staff wages out of his own pocket for six months in the hope business would improve at Garrington Home Finders.

Phil, who presents C4 property search show Location, Location, Location with Kirsty Allsop, said: “I have bank-rolled it during this tricky time and the tricky time has gone on longer than anyone imagined and it’s been far more painful because of the lack of deals. I have, together with others, fought tooth and nail to keep the company alive and keep everyone in jobs.”

Yesterday the Mirror revealed how Garrington, based in Chelsea, West London, was facing problems after one worker said he was laid off and told to claim state redundancy.

Phil, 39, said: “I absolutely accept that people will be upset if they don’t get paid for the last couple of weeks and that is deeply regrettable but I personally have been funding their salaries for six months.”

He co-founded the firm with his Australian wife Fiona, 40, in 1996 to help rich buyers find homes. Clients have included Keira Knightley, Kylie Minogue and Tottenham footballer Jonathan Woodgate.

Speaking from Melbourne where is filming a new series, Phil admitted that the collapse of the property market had hit hard and neither he nor his wife had drawn a salary for a year.

He said: “You can’t have a business or industry where the volume of business falls by over 50 per cent in the fairly short time and not be affected.

“If I had a regret it would be that I didn’t wind down quickly enough.”

Two investors had pulled out late in talks but Phil said Garrington was not in administration.

The company was close to arranging a management buyout involving restructuring to keep the firm going, with Phil kept on as a consultant.